TV and Radio

Duane Dudek | On TV/Radio

Radio stations are dropping smooth jazz and other formats that don't benefit from the honed-in ratings from portable people meters. But that doesn't mean you can't find those music formats elsewhere - from HD radio to the Internet to your cable TV. »Read Full Article

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As an alternative to Pandora, take a look at Slacker Radio. Like Pandora, it has a mode playing music based on what you tell it you like, but the service really is centered around the dozens of professionally programmed stations. As such, it's closer in concept to Sirius XM, and avoids the "why on EARTH is this being played" question that comes up with an entirely computer generated playlist on a service like Pandora. The Slacker apps for various mobile devices also offer "cached mode," allowing you to listen to the service even while away from an internet connection, meaning it serves quite well as a replacement for Sirius XM.

WTKM-AM now has separate programming from its FM station. The Polka Party is on FM every night at 5:00 until midnight as well as Saturday afternoon and Sunday beginning at noon. The AM station now is an oldies format.

I get my smooth jazz fix daily by streaming a Seattle smooth jazz station, KWJZ, off of their website. Good stuff, like we USED to have here. I agree with temeru2, Milwaukee mainstream radio has turned into a personality-free crapscape.

Over the air no longer holds any interest for me. I the car, I don't even turn the radio on. On the internet, try www.live365.com. They have anything you can think of. E.g., a channel that plays nothing but Frank Zappa.

Over the air no longer holds any interest for me. I the car, I don't even turn the radio on. On the internet, try www.live365.com. They have anything you can think of. E.g., a channel that plays nothing but Frank Zappa.

I knew for a simple fact that WFMR, our late, lamented classical music station, went off the air not because it didn't make any money, but that it didn't make ENOUGH money. The 24 year old bean counters (who could not even if pressed give you a definition of the word "music") showed the corporate conglomerates how to make even more money and so off into the ether went WFMR, the only station in town that provided classics. It was good, old-fashioned greed that deprived many Milwaukee listeners of their one and only oasis in the desert that is Milwaukee radio.

I am now glad to have that confirmed yet again by Mr Unmacht, as quoted by Mr Dudek.

If I ever do make it to Heaven after leaving this vale of tears, and discover there is music there, I somehow suspect it will resemble Beethoven, Newman and Gregoran chant. If I am condemned to hell the music there will undoubtedly be supplied by Milwaukee commercial radio.

I have used pandora.com, live365, and alternativeradio.net. All are good and you have a great variety. Plus, I have some songs downloaded before they are done playing. But locally, I like 88.9 the best right now. I like jazz, but the old smooth jazz station here played a little too much soft pop for my tastes.